The Implementation of the
Welfare-to-Work Grants Program

By:
Demetra Smith Nightingale
Nancy Pindus
John Trutko

(The Urban Institute)
With Contributions by Michael Egner

Submitted to:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
Project Officer: Alana Landey

Submitted by:
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.

Urban Institute (subcontractor)
Project Director: Alan Hershey
Co-Principal Investigators:
Thomas Fraker (Mathematica)
Demetra Nightingale (Urban Institute)

August 2002

This report is available on the Internet at:
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/wtw-grants-eval98/implem02/

How to Obtain a Printed Copy

Contents

• Executive Summary
• I. Introduction
  1. WtW Objectives and Funding
  2. WtW in the Context of Welfare Reform
  3. Objectives and Design of the WtW Evaluation
  4. The Process Analysis and Objectives of this Report
• II. Study Sites and Institutional Arrangements
  1. Study Sites
  2. Institutional Arrangements
• III. Participant Enrollment
  1. Targeting
  2. Outreach and Recruitment
  3. Planned & Actual Participation Levels
  4. Participant Characteristics
• IV. WtW Services
  1. Participant Assessment
  2. Pre-employment Preparation
  3. Education and Training
  4. Transitional Employment
  5. Post-employment Services
• V. Service Models and Pathways to Employment
  1. General Program Models
  2. Job Placement Rates
  3. Pathways to Employment
• VI. Conclusions and Implications
  1. Implementation Status
  2. Program Approaches and Services
  3. Lessons for Implementing Programs for the Hard-to-employ
• Appendices
  • Appendix A: Programs and Affiliated Organizations in the WtW Study Sites
  • Appendix B: Program Enrollee Characteristics in the Study Sites
  • Appendix C: Program Service Levels in the Study Sites
  • Appendix D: Profiles of the Study Sites and Programs
• Tables
  • Table II.1 WtW Evaluation In-depth Study Sites
  • Table II.2 Type of Organization Administering the WtW Grant, by Study Site
  • Table II.3 Study Grantees' Approaches to Structuring WtW Programs
  • Table II.4 Role of WtW Grantee Agency in Tanf Program, by Study Site
  • Table IV.1 Summary of Formal WtW Assessment Activities
  • Table IV.2 Job Retention and Post Employment Education and Skills Development, by Study Site
  • Table V.1 Program Service Models Operating in the WtW Study Sites
  • Table V.2 WtW Program Job Placements, Selected Sites
• Charts
  • Chart III.1 Participation Goals Versus Actual Participation, by Study Site
  • Chart III.2 Study Site Enrollee Characteristics: Race/ethnicity
  • Chart III.3 Study Site Enrollee Characteristics: Percent Without Hs Diploma or Ged
  • Chart III.4 Study Site Enrollee Characteristics: Disabilities, by Type
  • Chart IV.1 Participation in Job Preparation/job Search, by Site
  • Chart IV.2 Participation in Education/training, by Site
  • Chart IV.3 Participation in Transitional Employment, by Site
  • Chart V.1 Prototypes of Pathways to Employment
  • Chart V.2 Pathways to Employment in Selected WtW Sites

Acknowledgments

This report is part of a congressionally mandated evaluation of the Welfare-to-Work (WtW) Grants program, being conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., and its subcontractors the Urban Institute and Support Services International (SSI). This is an interim report from the process analysis component of the evaluation, and several individuals from all three research organizations contributed substantially.

Much of the information in this report is based on structured site visits in 1999, 2000, and 2001 to each of the eleven WtW grantee programs included in the evaluation. The process analysis site visit teams consisted of: Demetra Nightingale, Terri Thompson, Nancy Pindus, Carolyn O'Brien, Pamela Holcomb, and Lynne Fender of the Urban Institute; Alan Hershey, Irma Perez-Johnson, Jaqueline Kauff, Debra Strong, and Charles Nagatoshi of Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.; Mack Rhoades of SSI; John Trutko of Capital Research Associates; and Burt Barnow of the Institute for Policy Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Each contributed to portions of this report. Programming and data analysis was conducted by Deo Bencio and Dan Levy of Mathematica and Michael Egner of the Urban Institute.

Several individuals provided useful comments to this report: Alan Hershey, Thomas Fraker, Walter Corson, Irma Perez-Johnson, Debra Strong, Robert Olsen, Dan Levy, and Michelle VanNoy of MPR; Pamela Holcomb and Carolyn O'Brien of the Urban Institute; Burt Barnow of the Institute for Policy Studies at Johns Hopkins University; Alana Landey of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other reviewers from both the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Labor.

We owe particular gratitude to the hundreds of administrators, staff, and participants in the eleven local programs who generously shared their time and experience with us during the site visits. Their knowledge and insights are essential to understanding the potential of various program interventions.

Opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent official positions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., or the Urban Institute, its trustees or sponsors.

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Last updated: 09/16/02